Poster on zoonoses research wins third prize at Medical Research Council centenary event

We are pleased to congratulate Elizabeth Cook, a graduate fellow at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with the Zoonotic and Emerging Diseases research group, who won third prize in a poster competition held to commemorate 100 years since the founding of the UK Medical Research Council (MRC).

The MRC centenary celebration took place at the Royal Society, London on 10 December 2013 at a high-level event that brought together various heads of international biomedical research organizations, experienced researchers, parliamentarians and international research administrators and funders.

The poster competition had been organized for MRC-funded early-career researchers to communicate how international collaboration has been pivotal to their research. Cook’s PhD studentship at the University of Edinburgh is funded by the MRC.

Her poster, International partnerships – Shining the light on the neglected zoonoses, featured the People, Animals and their Zoonoses project which investigates zoonoses in western Kenya towards developing appropriate interventions for disease prevention and control.

The coordinating partners in the project are the University of Edinburgh, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya’s Department of Veterinary Services and ILRI.

The project also works in partnership with a number of universities and research institutes across the world for sampling, diagnostics and data analysis.

Funding for the project is from the Wellcome Trust and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).

 

Experts explore One Health options for better control of zoonotic diseases in South Asia

Morning milking in Rajasthan, India. Regional experts have called for appropriate One Health approaches to improve the prevention and control of zoonoses and agriculture-associated diseases in South Asia (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

On 25 November 2013, a regional multi-stakeholder forum on One Health/Ecohealth, with special emphasis on agriculture-associated diseases, was held in New Delhi, India. The event brought together some 50 high-level representatives from the human, animal and environmental health sectors, including international donors, policymakers, developmental agencies and researchers.

Among the several issues discussed was the need for a centralized body or coordination mechanism to address the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases in the South Asia region. With regard to disease surveillance and reporting, it was felt that in countries like India which follow a ‘top-down’ approach, there is need to also incorporate community-based ‘bottom-up’ surveillance that focuses not just on reporting but also on development.

Several participants drew attention to the need to develop robust estimates on how much zoonotic diseases are currently costing the public and private sectors. In order to be able to convince policymakers to invest in One Health, there is need to provide estimates of the full cost of disease and the cost of different options for reducing it.

One of the suggestions put forward to add value to One Health efforts was to document best practices – with clear pointers to what worked well and what did not – and share these lessons with states and regions who could adapt them to suit their local contexts. This is important as because there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to One Health.

The stakeholder forum was organized by the South Asia office of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and supported by the International Association for Ecology and Health, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and the Public Health Foundation of India.

Access the workshop report

 

The next global pandemic: Can we predict it?

Live chicken on sale in Hung Yen province, Vietnam (photo credit: ILRI/Nguyen Ngoc Huyen).

Can we predict the next global pandemic? How can we ensure that we are prepared to tackle the next global disease epidemic?

Ten years after the SARS pandemic, Alok Jha, a science correspondent at The Guardian, examines a new human-animal virus surveillance project in Vietnam as part of his investigation into the possibility of predicting the next global pandemic.

Read his article in The Guardian: A deadly disease could travel at jet speed around the world. How do we stop it in time?

Listen to his science documentary on BBC Radio 4: The Next Global Killer

 

CGIAR scientists develop working groups to coordinate mycotoxin research

On 9-11 October 2013, participants from five CGIAR centres met at Naivasha in Kenya to share about their current activities related to mycotoxin research and to plan for how these different activities might contribute to the next phase of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) mycotoxin research portfolio.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Biosciences eastern and central Africa Hub at ILRI.

Scientists presented their current mycotoxin research activities, the research gaps and opportunities they see, and areas for development. In addition, IITA presented on Biocontrol using atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and ILRI presented on risk analysis as the current gold standard for assessing, managing and communicating food safety. All presentations are available at https://aghealth.wordpress.com/presentations-at-the-second-joint-cgiar-meeting-on-mycotoxins.

The group agreed that mycotoxins were a key area for food safety and trade in Africa; that it was important to co-ordinate CGIAR activities across A4NH; that moving into a second phase of A4NH emphasis was needed on developing strong impact pathways that linked research with development outcomes.

To this end, the group established three working groups to plan and coordinate mycotoxin research across CGIAR centres:

• Evidence for risk and risk mitigation
• Diagnostics for use
• Population biology for control

Download the workshop report

 

IFPRI launches research briefs on aflatoxins and food safety

Harvested maize in Mozambique. Aflatoxins in maize and other staple crops pose significant public health risks in many developing countries (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

Earlier this week, on Tuesday 5 November 2013, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched a set of 19 research briefs on managing aflatoxins for improved food safety.

Aflatoxins are naturally occurring carcinogenic by-products of fungi on grains and other crops like maize and groundnuts. They pose a significant threat to public health in many developing countries and are also a barrier to the growth of domestic and international commercial markets for food and feed.

Acute exposure to high levels of aflatoxins can be fatal while chronic exposure to aflatoxins has been linked to liver cancer and is estimated to cause as many as 26,000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa. Aflatoxins have also been linked to stunted growth in children and immune system disorders.

The set of briefs – Aflatoxins: Finding Solutions for Improved Food Safety – provides different perspectives on aflatoxin risks and solutions. The analyses fall under four broad themes:

1. what is known about the health risks from aflatoxins;
2. how to overcome market constraints to improved aflatoxin control by building new market channels and incentives;
3. what is the international policy context for taking action in developing countries; and
4. what is the state of research on new aflatoxin control technologies, including new methods for aflatoxin detection, crop breeding, biological control, food storage and handling, and postharvest mitigation.

The briefs are co-edited by Laurian Unnevehr, senior research fellow at IFPRI and theme leader for value chains for enhanced nutrition in the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), and Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and theme leader for agriculture-associated diseases in A4NH.

Access the individual research briefs

Download the full set of research briefs (PDF)

Read more about ILRI’s research projects on aflatoxins:

• Capacity and action for aflatoxin reduction in eastern Africa
• Measuring and mitigating the risk of mycotoxins in maize and dairy products for poor consumers in Kenya

 

Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium publishes research updates

Orma Boran cattle crossing a river in Kenya. A new research update by the Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium offers insights into the drivers of Rift Valley fever in Kenya (photo credit: ILRI/R. Dolan)

The Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium has published five situation analysis research updates, one for each of its case study countries. Each update outlines the background to the case study disease being investigated, the key questions the research team is exploring, some of the knowns and unknowns, and the research methodologies being followed.

Bernard Bett, a veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is the leader of the Kenya team that is exploring the drivers of Rift Valley fever in Kenya.

The updates are available for download from the links below (PDF):

• Situation Analysis Research Update Ghana
• Situation Analysis Research Update Kenya
• Situation Analysis Research Update Sierra Leone
• Situation Analysis Research Update Zambia
• Situation Analysis Research Update  Zimbabwe

 

ILRI project poster wins top prize at international ecohealth conference

A poster based on research led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) towards improving productivity and food safety in smallholder pig value chains in Uganda won the Best Poster award at the Africa 2013 EcoHealth Conference held in Côte d’Ivoire on 1-5 October 2013.

The poster, Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices on pork safety among smallholder pig farmers in Uganda, was prepared by Kristina Roesel, a PhD student at Freie Universität Berlin and coordinator of the ILRI-led Safe Food, Fair Food project.

The study was carried out by the Safe Food, Fair Food project in collaboration with the Smallholder Pig Value Chains Development in Uganda project.

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ILRI joint appointee scientist awarded John Dillon Fellowship on agricultural research

Hung Nguyen-Viet, researcher at the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) and joint appointee of the International Livestock Research Institute (photo credit: CENPHER/Hung Nguyen-Viet).

We are pleased to congratulate Hung Nguyen-Viet for being among 10 recipients of the 2013 John Dillon Memorial Fellowship of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Hung is an environmental scientist at the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) at the Hanoi School of Public Health and a joint appointee of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

The fellowship was set up in recognition of Professor John Dillon, one of Australia’s leading agricultural economists, and his life-long support for international agricultural research.

It provides career development opportunities for outstanding young agricultural scientists or economists from ACIAR partner countries who are involved in a current or recently completed ACIAR project.

Hung is currently involved in an ILRI project on reducing disease risks and improving food safety in smallholder pig value chains in Vietnam. The project is funded by ACIAR.

Through this fellowship, he will spend six weeks in Australia during February to March 2014 and take part in formal training in professional communication, leadership and research management, and visit various Australian research organizations.

 

ILRI scientist receives India’s prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award

Purvi Mehta-Bhatt receives the 2013 Agriculture Leadership Award from the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri BL Joshi. In the background is Prof MS Swaminathan, the architect of India’s Green Revolution (photo credit: ILRI/Purvi Mehta-Bhatt).

We are pleased to congratulate Purvi Mehta-Bhatt – the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) regional representative for South Asia – for being among 11 recipients of India’s Agriculture Leadership Awards for 2013.

The award was presented at a prestigious ceremony held on 19 September 2013 in New Delhi that was graced by the presence of Prof MS Swaminathan, the architect of India’s Green Revolution.

Mehta-Bhatt received the Woman Leadership Award in recognition of her leadership role in influencing crop and livestock policies in India and for her continued efforts in linking grassroots level issues to national, regional and international research and policy strategies.

Facilitated by Agriculture Today, India’s leading agriculture magazine, these national awards are presented to institutions and individuals for outstanding leadership in agriculture.

In addition to her role as head of ILRI’s research programs in South Asia, Mehta-Bhatt is one of the research activity leaders of One Health and Ecohealth in ILRI’s Food Safety and Zoonoses program.

 

Call for abstracts: Global Development Symposium 2014

The Global Development Symposium 2014 takes place on 4–7 May 2014 at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Underscoring the critical links between human and animal health, the symposium will explore interdisciplinary approaches to improving public health and food security while empowering communities for lasting change.

Participants are expected to include social, environmental, medical and veterinary scientists as well as policymakers, students and community members who have an interest in positive global development.

The organizers of the symposium have issued a call for oral, poster and pitch for progress abstracts to be submitted up to 13 January 2014. 

The organizers will also support the travel costs of up to 15 delegates through the International Connections Scholarship supported by Aeroplan. Both professionals and students are encouraged to apply for these awards based on the following criteria:

• Preference will be given to those individuals from a developing nation or the Canadian North
• Demonstrated financial need as articulated through the application process
• If applying as a student, must be a full time student at a recognized college or university (a letter from the Department Chair of your institution must be included in the application submission)

Applications for scholarships will be accepted until 15 November 2013. 

Below are the expanded themes of the symposium

Theme 1: Global public health

• Ecosystem approaches to health
• Translating research to action to policy 
• One Health
• Educating the next generation of leaders
• Domestic, wild and feral animals 
• Crisis Intervention

Theme 2: Food and water security

• Sustaining communities
• Market integration
• Adding value to family agriculture
• Woman and children
• Climate change and health
• Water systems and infrastructure
• Human-animal interactions

Theme 3: Community empowerment

• Outcome assessment: qualitative and quantitative
• Stakeholder consultation, learning and sharing
• Participatory design, research, monitoring and evaluation
• Conservation, biodiversity and natural resource management
• Animals’ role in the community

Visit the symposium website for more information and details of how to register